Amazon To Invest £8 Bln In UK In Boost For New Labour Govt

London, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Sep, 2024) US tech giant Amazon is to invest £8 billion ($10.5 billion) in Britain over the next five years, creating thousands of jobs via its web services arm, the company and UK government announced Wednesday.

The announcement is a welcome boon for Britain's recently elected Labour government, which has put firing economic growth at the heart of its pledge to "rebuild" the country.

The investment -- to build, operate and maintain data centres in the UK -- could contribute £14 billion to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and "support" more than 14,000 jobs annually across the supply chain, Amazon said.

It is the firm's latest announcement of a large investment in a European country by its Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud computing division, and comes amid debate within the European Union about "cloud" computing services.

"This £8 billion investment marks the start of the economic revival and shows Britain is a place to do business," UK finance minister Rachel Reeves said in a statement.

"I am determined to go further so we can deliver on our mandate to create jobs, unlock investment and make every part of Britain better off.

"The hard work to fix the foundations of our economy has only just begun."

Underscoring the challenge the government faces, official data showed on Wednesday that Britain's economy posted zero growth for a second consecutive month in July.

The new Labour government is hosting an international investment summit in London on October 14, as part of its plans to boost economic growth.

In particular, it wants to capitalise on the country's tech sector.

Amazon said the money will be spent expanding the operations of its AWS subsidiary.

The e-commerce behemoth is seeking to capitalise on the rising demand for cloud computing capacity such as server space.